The San Francisco Giants travel to Wrigley Field for a three-game series this week against the Chicago Cubs, whose offense is best described, I think, by the old timey phrase “high flying.” They’ve been a juggernaut since the two-game set in Japan where they stunk it up against the Los Angeles Dodgers and have been more lethal from a hitting standpoint. Do the Giants stand a chance?
The Cubs’ lineup has scored 208 runs through its first 35 games, which leads the entire sport by a large amount. The Yankees have scored 187 runs and the Dodgers 182. (The Giants are 11th at 164). That translates to 5.94 runs per game! If you subtract those two shutouts, they’re averaging 6.30 runs per game. See? High-flying!
It’s no surprise how they’re doing it, either: they’re not striking out a lot and making hard contact. Their team BAbip of .299 suggests that their results are straightforwardly great (average for that stat is .300). They don’t have Aaron Judge or Shohei Ohtani tilting their team’s isolated power (their .193 ISO is 3rd in MLB behind the Yankees and Dodgers). Their team batting line is .262/.339/.455. They’re #1 in hits (323), #1 in stolen bases (45 out of 52 attempts), #1 in triples (9), 3rd in home runs (52), 3rd in walks (137), and they’ve hit into the fewest double plays (14). They’re doing it all.
They’ll be coming home to host the Giants after a surprising result in a series finale against Milwaukee that saw them shutout for just the second time this season. So, you know, watch out, Giants pitching.
Their biggest offseason acquisition was the trade for Houston’s Kyle Tucker, and he has certainly provided the team with the value commensurate with a trade of its magnitude. Overall, he has been the team’s best hitter, compiling a line of .292/.399/.577 with 9 home runs, 30 RBI, 9 stolen bases (0 caught stealing!) and 25 walks against 19 strikeouts.
But!
He’s one of three Cubs who have 9 home runs. The other two are polar opposites: an international transplant in 30-year old Seiya Suzuki and 23-year old top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong. On the one hand, Suzuki’s power isn’t surprising. He slugged .541 in Japan across 9 seasons. PCA, meanwhile, topped out at 20 home runs in 2023 after 500 plate appearances. Okay, okay — so, he slugged .515 in the minors, too.
Last year’s big acquisition for the Cubs, former Brewers manager Craig Counsell, contextualized PCA’s hot start:
“The bat speed right now from Pete, it kind of stands out,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “The ball feels like it’s just exploding off his bat.”
In his past 15 games (60 PA) he’s 17-for-58 with 4 doubles and 7 home runs (.293/.305/.721). He’s not a torpedo bat user, even! He’s just very, very good. He’s also fourth in MLB in stolen bases with 12. His one “weakness?” 1 walk against 10 strikeouts.
Remarkably, the Cubs are just 9-7 at home here in the early season, though their offense is still averaging 5.5 runs per game in the cozy confines. Still, their last homestand was comprised of 8 games and they went 5-3 against the Diamondbacks, Dodgers, and Phillies.
Meanwhile, the Giants are averaging 4.56 runs per game, 5.13 runs per game without the four shutouts. Their 164 runs scored are 11th in MLB. They’re sort of doing the opposite of the Cubs, who balance their offense with average defense and middle of the pack pitching. The Giants’ defense is currently measuring below average, but their pitching (3.50 ERA / 3.34 FIP) is 6th in MLB (4th in the NL). The Giants are 10-8 on the road and in another bout of opposites, the Cubs’ 4.14 home ERA is much worse (22nd in MLB) than their road ERA of 3.60 (4th). San Francisco is 4.13 on the road (15th).
But the vibes for both teams are strong. This will be a great test for both clubs. This will be Jung Hoo Lee’s first time playing there. Robbie Ray has pitched great there but the last time he set foot on that mound was 2019. 24 of the Giants’ 37 home runs have come on the road.
The Cubs have won the last two series at Wrigley Field, and the Giants last won a road series on April 13th in New York against the Yankees.
Series overview
Who: San Francisco Giants at Chicago Cubs
Where: Wrigley Field | Chicago, Illinois
When: Monday & Tuesday at 4:40pm PT, Wednesday at 11:20am PT
National broadcasts: None
Projected starters
Monday: Landen Roupp (RHP 2-2, 5.10 ERA) vs. Matthew Boyd (LHP 2-2, 2.70 ERA)
Tuesday: Justin Verlander (RHP 0-2, 4.38 ERA) vs. Colin Rea (RHP 2-0, 1.46 ERA)
Wednesday: Robbie Ray (LHP 4-0, 3.05 ERA) vs. Ben Brown (RHP 3-2, 4.88 ERA)
Where they stand
Giants, 22-13 (3rd in NL West), 164 RS / 129 RA | Last 10: 6-4
Cubs, 21-14 (1st in NL Central), 208 RS / 146 RA | Last 10: 6-4
Cubs to watch
Matthew Boyd: Does anyone remember the time the Giants signed him to about a $5 million contract so that he could rehab from Tommy John and then he was traded at the deadline as the Giants tried to cut salary ahead of knowing they wouldn’t make the playoffs that year? That was 2022, still a couple of years away from what was his best season (185.1 IP in 2019), and now three seasons later he’s gotten off to a very nice start for a Cubs team that’s suffering some thinness in their rotation (especially after Shoto Imanagi’s leg injury that has put him on the IL). So far, he’s done something he hasn’t done through most of his career: limit home runs. His 7.1% HR/FB rate is well below his career 13.2%.
The Giants’ struggles against left-handed pitching is a bit overblown. They are not one of the worst teams in baseball against the split (their 85 wRC+ is 18th); they are merely not as good of a lineup (102 wRC+ vs. RHP – 16th in MLB).
Carson Kelly: The catcher is slashing .368/.413/.807 in his first 19 games (76 PA). The former Diamondback has a healthy history against the Giants, too: .241/.321/.380 (.700 OPS), perfectly fine for a catcher, but let’s see if his white-hot start meshes with some familiarity on his part.
Michael Busch: So, the Cubs have a bunch of great players they’ve basically acquired through free agency and trade. Here’s a rare example of a Dodger castoff blossoming elsewhere. Last year, the left-handed hitting Busch emerged as a capable new starting first baseball (.775 OPS in 567 PA) and here in 2025, it appears a Tucker tide has raised all bats, as Busch has an .868 OPS through his first 128 plate appearances to begin the season.
Giants to watch
Willy Adames: His Sunday performance was really quite a site. So close to a three-homer day. The longtime NL Central rival of the Cubs has a career .851 OPS against them and has 4 career home runs in Wrigley Field.
Kyle Harrison: The gauntlet of left-handed bats in the Cubs’ lineup suggests we will get to see the Giants’ former top pitching prospect, called up yesterday to replace Lou Trivino. Let’s see if that Triple-A velocity sticks here in a major league relief role. That’s usually how it goes, but you can’t predict baseball.
Robbie Ray: He’s made three career starts at Wrigley Field and they’ve all been good or great: 5 IP 8 K (2 ER) in 2015, 7 IP 6 K (1 ER) in 2018, and 6 IP 4 K (1 ER) in 2019. On the other hand, Robbie Ray is a flyball pitcher. The Cubs are a flyball lineup.
Prediction time
Poll
Giants @ Cubs – how will it go?
45%
Giants win series, 2-1
(104 votes)
40%
Giants lose series, 2-1
(92 votes)
227 votes total